Crackdown, Scalebound Skipping E3 2015

By John Jacques 15 January 2015

With E3 2015 set to get underway next week, Microsoft has plenty of titles on its plate to show off at the world’s biggest gaming convention. Two games which have had relatively quiet months since their announcement at last year’s E3, however, won’t be featuring in the returning line-up. Microsoft’s Crackdown and Platinum Games’Scalebound will both wait until August to return to the spotlight at Gamescom, skipping the E3 2015 experience entirely.

Xbox head Phil Spencer was coy about not confirming the appearance of Crackdown at E3 earlier this week, so it’s not very surprising that game – which still has no release date – will skip over E3 and give the spotlight to other Microsoft titles. Aside of the E3 2014 reveal trailer, the development of the third Crackdown game has been kept largely under wraps. The same can be said for Scalebound, which has been hailed as a Triple A title but has featured only in vocal discussions since it was announced last year.

The two Xbox exclusives aren’t the first games to announce a lack of attendance at E3 in favor of Gamescom, with Remedy just recently announcing its upcoming title Quantum Break will be doing the same. With Microsoft confirming that three Xbox One exclusive titles won’t be making appearances, the company is either very confident in the remaining lineup, or Microsoft has truly shifted a strong focus onto E3’s first ever PC gaming show.

According to Spencer, the decision to forego the two titles’ inclusion in Microsoft’s E3 showcase was based on the fact that the company has a”jam-packed lineup of games to show at E3,” and stated that it was simply impossible to give each Xbox One game its proper time in the spotlight. Whether this is an accurate portrayal of Microsoft’s hidden lineup, or the games just needed more development time ahead of public viewing, will be the subject of debate until the games finally get their chance to shine in early August.

This year’s E3 is going to be a busy time for Microsoft, who just announced a partnership with Oculus today which will see each headset come with an Xbox One controller. The company has some serious heavy-hitters at their disposal for E3 2015, with titles like Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza 6 and Gears of War 4 expected to all feature.

Microsoft’s E3 2015 press conference will be aired live globally on June 15th at 9:30am PDT. Gamescom, on the other hand, will open its doors on August 6, 2015.